Motown wedding songs for every moment

• Everyone knows it. Grandparents grew up with it, parents danced to it, and younger guests know the choruses from films and from every wedding they've ever been to.
• It's about love, mostly the happy kind. A lot of Motown is joyful, devoted and uncomplicated, which is exactly what you want at a wedding.
• The tempos are made for dancing. Many of the big hits sit at a comfortable, steady pace that suits people who don't usually dance.
• For Michigan families, it's home. A Motown song at a Detroit wedding means something it doesn't quite mean anywhere else.

Guest seating and prelude

Soft, familiar melodies while guests find their seats. These tend to translate well to acoustic guitar or piano, which is how most couples hear them at a ceremony.

• My Cherie Amour, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Ooo Baby Baby, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Motown)
• I'll Be There, The Jackson 5 (Motown)
• Being with You, Smokey Robinson (Motown)
• We're Going to Be Friends, The White Stripes (Detroit)

Processional and your entrance

Slower songs with a steady pulse. Played live, the musician can stretch or shorten them so the right line lands as you reach the front.

• Ribbon in the Sky, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Overjoyed, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• You're All I Need to Get By, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Motown)
• Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Motown)
• (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Aretha Franklin (Detroit)

Recessional

You're married. This is where Motown is at its best: bright, recognisable from the first notes, and impossible to walk to without smiling.

• Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Motown)
• How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), Marvin Gaye (Motown)
• My Girl, The Temptations (Motown)
• My Guy, Mary Wells (Motown)
• (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Jackie Wilson (Detroit)

Mid-tempo, easy to talk over, and cheerful enough to keep the lawn or the terrace feeling like a party.

• Cruisin', Smokey Robinson (Motown)
• I Second That Emotion, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Motown)
• The Way You Do the Things You Do, The Temptations (Motown)
• Please Mr. Postman, The Marvelettes (Motown)
• Baby Love, The Supremes (Motown)
• This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You), The Isley Brothers (Motown)
• Could It Be I'm Falling in Love, The Spinners (Detroit)
• Caught Up in the Rapture, Anita Baker (Detroit)

Grand entrance

Something with a big opening, so the room is on its feet before you're through the door.

• Get Ready, The Temptations (Motown)
• I'm Coming Out, Diana Ross (Motown)
• Shotgun, Jr. Walker and the All Stars (Motown)
• Going to a Go-Go, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Motown)
• Rhythm of the Night, DeBarge (Motown)
• Freeway of Love, Aretha Franklin (Detroit)

Dinner

Warm and unhurried, at a volume your guests can talk over.

• Truly, Lionel Richie (Motown)
• Three Times a Lady, Commodores (Motown)
• All This Love, DeBarge (Motown)
• I Was Made to Love Her, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• I'll Be Around, The Spinners (Detroit)

First dance

The slow side of Detroit. Several of these were written as duets, which is lovely if you want a song that's about both of you.

• Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Motown)
• You're All I Need to Get By, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Motown)
• Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Motown)
• Overjoyed, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Sweet Love, Anita Baker (Detroit)
• Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker (Detroit)
• We've Got Tonight, Bob Seger (Detroit)

Thinking about having it sung live? Read first dance songs played live.

Father-daughter dance

• My Girl, The Temptations (Motown)
• Isn't She Lovely, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• I'll Be There, The Jackson 5 (Motown)
• You Are the Sunshine of My Life, Stevie Wonder (Motown)

Mother-son dance

• Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Motown)
• How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), Marvin Gaye (Motown)
• Reach Out I'll Be There, Four Tops (Motown)
• For Once in My Life, Stevie Wonder (Motown)

Anniversary dance

Many couples invite every married couple onto the floor, then thin it out by years married until the longest-married couple is dancing alone.

• Three Times a Lady, Commodores (Motown)
• Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie (Motown)
• Ooo Baby Baby, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (Motown)

Cake cutting

• I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), Four Tops (Motown)
• How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), Marvin Gaye (Motown)
• You Can't Hurry Love, The Supremes (Motown)

A run of Motown is one of the easiest ways to get grandparents and college friends on the floor together. These are ideas for that run.

• I Want You Back, The Jackson 5 (Motown)
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Superstition, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder (Motown)
• Dancing in the Street, Martha and the Vandellas (Motown)
• Heat Wave, Martha and the Vandellas (Motown)
• Do You Love Me, The Contours (Motown)
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg, The Temptations (Motown)
• Got to Give It Up, Marvin Gaye (Motown)
• Brick House, Commodores (Motown)
• All Night Long (All Night), Lionel Richie (Motown)
• Upside Down, Diana Ross (Motown)
• What Does It Take (To Win Your Love), Jr. Walker and the All Stars (Motown)

Detroit and Michigan, beyond Motown

Not on the label, but every bit as much a part of a Michigan wedding.

• Respect, Aretha Franklin, who grew up in Detroit
• Think, Aretha Franklin
• (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Jackie Wilson, born in Detroit
• The Rubberband Man, The Spinners, formed in Ferndale
• Devil with a Blue Dress On / Good Golly Miss Molly, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
• Old Time Rock and Roll, Bob Seger, born in Detroit
• Some Kind of Wonderful, Grand Funk Railroad, from Flint
• Into the Groove, Madonna, who grew up in Oakland County
• Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes, from Detroit
• About Damn Time, Lizzo, born in Detroit
• All Summer Long, Kid Rock, a natural for a Northern Michigan lake wedding

DeBarge, on the Motown list above, grew up in Grand Rapids, if you're marrying on the west side of the state and want a local nod.

The last song and send-off

The last song should gather everyone into one circle. These are made for it.

• Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, or Diana Ross (Motown)
• Never Can Say Goodbye, The Jackson 5 (Motown)
• Reach Out I'll Be There, Four Tops (Motown)
• (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, Jackie Wilson (Detroit)

Much of it, yes, and it's some of the most rewarding music to hear live at a wedding. A few things to know when you choose.

Melody-led songs translate best

Songs built on a strong melody and simple chords, like "My Cherie Amour", "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" or "Ooo Baby Baby", sound complete on guitar and voice or piano. Songs that rely on a horn section or a famous bass line, like "Superstition" or "My Girl" with its opening riff, sound different without them. Different isn't worse. Hear a sample before you decide.

Duets need a plan

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell songs are written for two voices. With a solo musician they become one voice, which can be beautiful, especially for an instrumental processional. If you'd like the duet feel, ask whether a guest could take a verse.

Live over the recording

There's another way. With DJ plus live music, a hybrid package built on the DJ and MC booking, the recording plays with its full Motown sound, drums, bass, horns and all, and live musicians play over the top of it at the moments you choose together, in any combination of drums, guitar, sax and violin. It's a good way to hear a song like "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" with a live musician in the room, without losing the record everyone knows.

• Pick your moments. One Motown song at the ceremony, one for a parent dance and a run on the dance floor is plenty for most couples.
• Mix the eras. On the floor, Motown lands best next to newer songs, not as an hour-long block.
• Mind the words. A few classic songs are about heartbreak or cheating under a happy tune. Read the lyrics of anything you're choosing for a key moment.
• Use the do-not-play list. If one song has been played at every family wedding since 1985, it's allowed to sit this one out.

Motown at a Detroit wedding

Motown means the most in the city that made it. At a ballroom like The Masonic Temple, or a lakefront house like the War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms, a Detroit song for the recessional or the last dance is a quiet nod to home. Out-of-town guests will notice, and your Detroit family will sing every word.